Understanding and applying the methods for establishing authority

Binding and nonbinding authority Direct statement or command – explicit duty Necessary implication – conclusion required Approved examples – approved conduct Specific authority – fully and clearly expressed Generic authority – inclusive or lacking details

Concede the following points: Not every –  direct statement or command is binding on us today, but some are  necessary implication is binding on us today, but some are  approved apostolic example is binding on us today, but some are  detail is binding on us today, but some are

We know God approves of an action if it can be traced to authority given by inspiration.

Approved authority is not necessarily the same as obligated duty  Examine the immediate context of the passage and book  Compare God’s complete revelation  Must understand God’s point in the passage  Authority as it relates to conversion, service, worship, and faithfulness (To be a Christian)

All religious people accept the premise that some details of authority are binding while others are not. “Christian” faiths – must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. (2.1 Billion) Non-Christian faiths – Deny Christ (4.8 Billion)

The fact that some people disagree or misunderstand God’s Word changes nothing about truth. Whatever I believe is clear and reasonable to me. How can others miss the evidence I understand and believe?

Christians accept the binding nature of water baptism for the remission of sins.  Acts 2:38 and 1 Peter 3:21 Christians accept the binding authority of “believers” baptism  Acts 8:36-38 Binding and nonbinding aspects

How can I know when and what part of God’s revelation is relevant to my salvation and is binding on me today?

Distinguish between specific and generic authority Remember, generic authority (the liberty to choose) does not exist without specific instructions to act. The options chosen by early Christians do not limit the options we may choose today

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Preaching to the lost is binding authority  Spirit guided message  Message focused on Christ the Savior  Baptism  Different approach and wording  Beginning in Isaiah  "Go near and overtake this chariot." Non-binding authority

Philippians 4:9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Things we cannot emulate:  Apostle  Perform miracles  Speak in tongues Things we are not required to emulate:  Tent maker  Unmarried  Travel the world

Philippians 4:9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Required to follow him as he followed Christ 1 Corinthians 11:1-2 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you.

Examples and Generic Authority A subject of great misunderstanding, controversy, and inconsistency Positions range from “no example is binding” to “if one approved example is binding then every detail of every example must be binding.

Approved, exclusive, binding examples  Approved – Something done that God accepts or endorses as right  Exclusive – No other information is provided or all information is uniform and consistent  Binding – The approved and exclusive example obligates us to do exactly as they did  Just because an act is approved and exclusive does not make it binding.

How can we know if an approved exclusive example is binding?  Consider the specific details in the instruction to act and what choices (if any) we are allow to make in carrying out that duty  Generic choices are allowed by the specific instructions  Approved examples contain both specific and generic authority

Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15) Going is specified, but not the manner of going. If Jesus had said, “Walk into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” we would expect all of the examples to be exclusively consistent with His command.

We are bound, as they were, to God’s specific instructions. We are free, as they were, to choose for ourselves in matters of generic authority.  We are not bound to their choices  Examples do not limit generic authority  We are bound if God makes the choice for us.

God’s message to man about any duty usually includes both specific and generic authority Examples of approved conduct demonstrate both God’s explicit instructions and the disciples’ own choices of generic authority

What generic authority allows:  To choose what we think is best under our customs, circumstances, times, and culture  Variety of choice  Divine permission, but not binding obligation Paul’s illustration – 1 Cor. 7:6-10

Tempered and wise choices 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well-being.

When is a New Testament example binding? We may be asking THE WRONG QUESTION!!!! The burden of proof – When is a New Testament example not binding?

When is a New Testament example not binding?  Some reasonable, logical, and useful principles when taken together Don’t mock or ridicule the idea of reasoning or its role in our understanding the Bible’s message

Jesus expects us to use sound reasoning when forming our conclusions about His Word Matt. 16:1-12

When is a New Testament example binding?  Those parts of an example that show Christians doing precisely what God explicitly said (There must be an element to baptism and examples reveal it is water)

When is a New Testament example not binding?  The details are not relevant and necessary to the specific command (Acts 20:8 – there were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together.)

When is a New Testament example not binding?  Not consistent and in harmony with the entire context and teaching of the New Testament (Acts 16:1-3 – Timothy’s circumcision)

When is a New Testament example not binding?  The details are not uniform (Mode of travel – Acts 20:13 Then we went ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, there intending to take Paul on board; for so he had given orders, intending himself to go on foot.)

When is a New Testament example not binding? The details relate to the customs and traditions of the times (Acts 16:1-3 – Timothy’s circumcision & Acts 21:26 – Paul’s purification and entering the temple)

When is a New Testament example not binding?  Details cannot be universally applied (Acts 2:46 – in the temple, from a Greek word that means the entire temple complex & Acts 20:9 – Third story of a building)

When is a New Testament example not binding?  The details are bound to a limited few and for a particular time (1 Cor. 14 – the use of prophecies and tongues)

When is a New Testament example not binding?  An example is not binding outside of its application or in situations beyond those set forth in the inspired record of action, unless there is biblical support for such extension (Rom. 14 – matters of liberty)